Anyone else have Good Samaritans who stop to help with your bike?

[Kvixen23]

I recently had the misfortune of a flat tire while out on the road with my husband. We changed the tube, aired her up and headed out. However, within less than a half mile, it was flat again. We didn't have anymore CO2 as we fumbled with the one I had and then used my husbands for the first flat.

We knew we were 5 miles from home and I couldn't walk it with my bike shoes or barefoot. Seeing as how we both left the house without a cell phone and were nowhere near a gas station or other useful public place, we decided that he would ride home and get the truck to retrieve me. However, we saw a couple of women coming out of the museum up the hill and rode up to ask if we could borrow a phone. One lady was kind enough to let us try our friends but we had no success.

So, my hubby pedaled away and I sat in the grass on the side of the road with my bike and my flat. While sitting there I was working out what to say if someone did stop to offer help. However, no one stopped. I started counting cars due to boredom. I stopped counting after 30.....no one even slowed down.

Thankfully my friends called back the unfamiliar number and the lady told him where I was stranded. He showed up and rescued me while his partner waited at our house for my husband so he would know I was being retrieved from my demise.

Usually people in Oklahoma are very friendly. I don't know what happened that day that no one stopped. I'm still trying to figure that out.......Needless to say, we will not be forgetting a cell phone anytime soon. Also, I took my bike to my LBS and they found a small piece of glass in the tire.....go figure!!

[Jiffer]

Ino one stopped. I started counting cars due to boredom. I stopped counting after 30.....no one even slowed down.

Were there any cyclists who rode by? All of my help has been from cyclists going by, and in our area, there are always cyclists on whatever road I'd be riding MY bike on.

The only time a car stopped for me, so far, was when it was my Pastor, so he knew me.

And, yes ... ALWAYS have your cell phone on you!!! When I was with my two friends and one of them crashed and went unconscious, my other friend didn't have hers. She purposefully left it since she knew we had ours. But it was so frustrating for her not to have it to be able to call her husband and other people during the midst of our crisis. I used mine to call 911 and friends and she took the "fallen" friend's phone out of the back of her jersey and used it some, but it didn't have phone numbers on it that her own phone had.j

Glad you got home okay.

[SouthernBelle]

If you were just sitting, they would assume you were resting.

My little story today: I ride with a bandanna tied around my wrist for mopping sweat, etc. Today it blew off and was sitting in the middle of the highway. I stopped, laid down the bike to run back and get it. A car stopped, blocking traffic so it wouldn't get run over. Wasn't that nice? And it was my good orange one that Meg gave me.

[deeaimond]

One night I was riding with a friend and my BB jammed up so we were stuck in the middle of nowhere. It was a small narrow two lane road, and we were waving at people like crazy but everyone just zoomed by. And these were all trucks. Sigh. I had to call my dad to come pick me up and send me back to uni. Usually if my dad is driving we always stop and ask if we see people who need help (sometimes even foreign workers who are walking a long distance back to their lodgings), so its not too easy to fathom pple who drive but can't stop to help people in obvious need.

Oh but i've had people obviously slow down and drive behind me while I negotiate a more complicated spot of traffic. In a way helping me block the traffic behind and its a particularly nice feeling.

[Cataboo]

I've had men pause (in bikes or in cars) to ask if I'm okay when I've stopped at the top of a hill to rest, or if I stop to take photos. I can't say that I've had a female do it, but I do see less females out cycling in general.

Anytime I've had a flat - I've always had the tools to fix it, and while noone's stopped to help, I don't actually need it. Anytime I've had a flat car tire on the highway, guys have stopped to help - which I usually say, it's okay I've got it, and then I let them change it when they insist.

I usually at least pause to offer help if I see someone in bike distress.

I did end up walking home 7 miles after my chain broke once (I didn't have a spare pin, and wasn't confident that I could jury rig it when it was dark and I was in the middle of nowhere) without anyone stopping to help - I think a minivan was about to, but I think she noticed I was on my cell phone.

I did decide to walk that 7 miles home on the highway in the dark (direct flat route home instead of via rural hilly farmland), so I can't really expect someone to have seen me and realized I needed help.


I crashed once and had fairly bad (okay, my first case so for me it was bad) road rash, had warped my wheel, and sent my friend to bike back & get a car because I really wasn't equipped to true the wheel and we were only 2 miles or so from home... I decided to start walking back instead of just sitting on the side of the road, and had helpful motorcyclists shouting at me "why don't you ride that thing?"

[colby]

I have had people stop and ask if I needed help with a flat, usually I'm with someone when it happens and we wave them on. So far I haven't had any other major malfunctions (knock on wood). I have had strangers when I'm running ask me what I'm training for and say 'good luck' or 'great job', but nothing as cute as the little older lady and water bottle refills.

Earlier this spring I went out for an Ironman training ride and it started to rain. Not mist. Rain. I can handle a little rain and I had my arm warmers (was just wearing a short sleeve jersey), but didn't have them on because it of course did not start out by raining and we'd had a lot of days that threatened, or sprinkled, but then the weather moved on, which I can handle. By the time I was cold enough to put them on, it would have been like putting on a wet bathing suit. I had come up on another rider just as it started sprinkling, and started riding the back side of the loop with her. She wasn't training for the IM this year, but was local (more local than I - about 15-20 miles separated where she lived and where I live). This fine woman offered to drive me home rather than ride the additional 15-20 miles (on top of the many hilly and chilly miles I had already done). It was pouring when we got to her house. It was dry when we got to mine. Go figure. I guess it just wasn't my day to ride... (my bike) Lucy and I were soaked to the bone (gills? carbon?).

I will never forget that gesture and will certainly offer others the same courtesy if I'm in a position to do so. One of the guys at work has a saying on his instant messenger, small courtesies are the lubricant of everyday life.

So, thanks Christine, if you're out there.

[crazybikinchic]

My husband does not ride, but goes with me when I ride. A friend and I had gone to a popular riding spot a few years ago and DH was with us. He had bottled water and gatorade and a few snacks for us. Some other cyclist came through were he was and he gave them all some of the water (it was cold water and Texas heat) and snacks.

This year, I have had 3 flats. All have been on training rides with a group of people that I ride with often. The guys have been quick to help, which doesn't bother me because they can change it much faster than myself. A lady that I was riding with at the HHH had a flat, and again, a guy was quick to stop and help (again, faster than us). We saw him later in the ride helping someone else change a flat. He was funny, had a cooler full of beer trailing behind his bike. He had already had at least 1 when he helped us (at 8:00 am).

[Kvixen23]

[QUOTE=Jiffer;368614]Were there any cyclists who rode by? All of my help has been from cyclists going by, and in our area, there are always cyclists on whatever road I'd be riding MY bike on.

No cyclists that day..... I did learn a valuable lesson though....never leave home without a cell phone!!! So, can't complain too much

[crazycanuck]

When I had my oopsie last year, we (the gent i ran into) had a wonderful older gent help us get to the nearest residential street. I'm thankful he was walking in the area at 6am